Studiocanal Extreme Sports Thriller ‘Spinners’ Captures France’s Drive into African Premium Drama

variety.com:

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Studiocanal will stage at the London TV Screenings the international premiere of “Spinners,” an eight-part extreme sports action drama set on the mean streets of Cape Town’s Southside, that is not just a series but a sign of an industry zeitgeist.

As the competition for talent grows, there’s a building drive into emerging production hubs beyond the traditional powerhouse territories in Europe led by some of its most powerful players, here France’s Canal+, Studiocanal and Federation Studios, and some of its biggest TV events, such as Series Mania.

Produced by Joachim Landau and Raphaël Rocher at Federation Studios’ Empreinte Digitale, and co-created by Landau, “Spinners” is a co-production of South Africa’s Showmax, Africa’s biggest pan-continental SVOD service available in 65 countries, and Vivendi’s Canal+, rating as both a Showmax and Canal+ Original.  “Spinners” makes its market bow just months after French powerhouse Federation Studios and its Empreinte Digitale are launching Federation MEAC, a production subsidiary devoted to the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean, headed precisely by Landau.

Created by Landau and Benjamin Hoffman,“Spinners” will bode introduced to buyers in London just a couple of months after Studiocanal announced it had boarded – and is co-developing – epic action drama “Agoodjie,” about a fearsome 19th century female fighting force of 4,000 women warriors who fought with extraordinary fearlessness against the French army in Dahomey, West Africa More titles will come, said Beatriz Campos, Studiocanal SVP global sales & production financing. “Africa is a big focus for us and we are extremely pleased to present ‘Spinners’ which is a great